Sky News has a reporter and camera crew aboard HMS Trenchant (S 91) for their most recent "Perisher" PCO examination; they've posted two reports to date: here and here. The first report has some footage of U.S. Submariner LCDR Travis Petzoldt (former editor of Undersea Warfare magazine), who is one of the five officers being tested. The 2nd one has film of a fire drill onboard; it looks like the Brits use smoke generators for their drills. (Much more realistic than sticking hairnets over your EABs if you ask me.)
I'm looking forward to the next report; while my first impression on watching was that the reporter sounded exactly like Eric Idle doing a Monty Python documentary, it ended up being pretty good.
Update 0540 02 June: The 3rd and last report is here; plus, I think I've got the link issues worked out for this video and the 2nd one; you'll have to search for "submarines" if you hit the first "here" link in the main post.
Amusing Navy Reserve Video
Check out the newest YouTube video from the Navy -- it's a recruiting video for the Navy Reserves:
My favorite part: click on the "More Info" link in the box on the right of the video's page and you get an "Office Space" reference. Someone over in the Navy Recruiting Office actually has a sense of humor!
My favorite part: click on the "More Info" link in the box on the right of the video's page and you get an "Office Space" reference. Someone over in the Navy Recruiting Office actually has a sense of humor!
HMS Superb Suffers Submerged Grounding In Red Sea
The British Swiftsure-class submarine HMS Superb (S 109) grounded while running submerged in the northern Red Sea on Monday, the Royal Navy announced yesterday.
Staying at PD...
The 272-foot vessel had passed through the canal and was in the northern Red Sea when she grounded. No other vessel was involved.The Sub Report has many more links to this breaking story. The most recent similar accident, the grounding of USS San Francisco (SSN 711), is of course very familiar to American submariners, and I'm thankful that this grounding seems much less severe in terms of casualties.
An MoD spokesman said the submarine's nuclear reactor was "completely unaffected" and there was "no environmental impact" from the collision.
"There were no casualties and the submarine remains watertight, is safe on the surface and able to operate under her own power," he said.
The vessel is in international waters but unable to dive because of the damage to sonar equipment.
Staying at PD...
Memorial Day 2008
On this day that we honor fallen heroes, let us recommit to remembering the sacrifices of the Submariners still on patrol -- a good place to read about them and reflect on their service is at the ComSubPac website. Here's a listing of the 52 boats lost during WWII, and here's where we can read about Submariners lost on other boats.
To all those who have given all for our freedom -- Thank You.
To all those who have given all for our freedom -- Thank You.
J. R. Simplot, Idaho Legend, Passes On At 99
Idaho billionaire J. R. Simplot passed away earlier today at age 99. After making a fortune from perfecting the frozen French Fry, he concentrated on philanthropy and investing, helping many Idaho companies (including the one where I work) get started. An amazingly open man who never even attended high school, his home number is listed in the phone book, and it's said he answered the phone himself.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Simplot once; I was a JO on USS Topeka (SSN 754) in the early 90s, and the members of the USS Boise Commissioning Committee came to San Diego for a dog-and-pony show that featured a VIP ride on our boat. I helped him down the Weapons Shipping Hatch and to the wardroom, and mentioned that my wife was from Idaho. He didn't walk around the boat much (he was in his 80s, after all) but talked with all the crewmen he could. He was the epitome of the true American success story.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Simplot once; I was a JO on USS Topeka (SSN 754) in the early 90s, and the members of the USS Boise Commissioning Committee came to San Diego for a dog-and-pony show that featured a VIP ride on our boat. I helped him down the Weapons Shipping Hatch and to the wardroom, and mentioned that my wife was from Idaho. He didn't walk around the boat much (he was in his 80s, after all) but talked with all the crewmen he could. He was the epitome of the true American success story.
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